Give me a break. Or more accurately, give Jimmy Page a break; you're not being fair to him. The CD mastering technology was in its infancy back in 1990-1993 when they first mastered the catalogue to CD. It was difficult to get the depth of bass response on CD that you could on vinyl. That's why most audiophiles held on to their vinyl collections even when record companies started phasing out vinyl in favour of CDs. Considering that Jimmy Page wasn't involved with the first issue of the CDs in the 1980s, this is only the second time the Led Zeppelin catalogue has been remastered and released. You're the one that should be ashamed of himself with this rant. Good grief.

Welcome to Led Zeppelin John...it's never too late to become a fan. "Hammer of the Gods" and other Stephen Davis books are bollocks, in my opinion. If you want a good introductory book to Led Zeppelin that focuses on the music and also has a wealth of detail and information about the live shows, I always recommend the excellent "LED ZEPPELIN: Heaven and Hell" by Charles Cross. http://www.amazon.com/Led-Zeppelin-Heaven-And-Hell/dp/0517583089 Also get any Led Zeppelin book by Dave Lewis: "A Celebration" http://www.amazon.com/Led-Zeppelin-Celebration-Dave-Lewis/dp/0711924163/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1403300107&sr=1-2 "The Concert Documentary" http://www.amazon.com/Led-Zeppelin-Documentary-Dave-Lewis/dp/0711953074/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1403300054&sr=1-1&keywords=led+zeppelin+dave+lewis Another of my favourites from the old days, Paul Kendall's "Led Zeppelin: A Visual Documentary": http://www.amazon.com/Led-Zeppelin-Documentary-Paul-Kendall/dp/0711900949/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1403300206&sr=1-3&keywords=led+zeppelin+paul+kendall A must-have for the photography...either edition of Neal Preston's Led Zeppelin photo books: http://www.amazon.com/Led-Zeppelin-Portraits-Neal-Preston/dp/0060960973/ref=pd_sim_b_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0MZ0B2CEZ63T35CA01JD http://www.amazon.com/Led-Zeppelin-Neal-Preston/dp/1847726496/ref=pd_sim_b_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=0117S320B02BM5Y1JJGK

Is there a Mercy-rule in the World Cup? The cheese-eating-surrender-monkeys are making fondue out of the Swiss cheese defense.

By "Celebration Day", scylla meant the release of the 2007 O2 concert, not the song.

Aye, that's England gutted again. England loses. Shock. Horror.

Ummm, somebody might want to let England know that the second half has begun.

Suarez scores for Liverpool!!! Erm, I mean Uruguay. 1-0 at the half. Maybe Rooney can get some pointers on proper heading of the ball from Suarez next Premiere League season?

^^^ Philistine! Actually, it reminds me of a Rossini overture. So the question of the match: Who has a better chance of scoring...Rooney or CP with Katy Perry?

velvet

Nearly every Chuck Berry song is perfect. Well, except for "My Ding-a-Ling"...I'll just pretend that doesn't exit, hehe. The Chuck Berry catalogue is one of the cornerstones of Rock and Roll. More so than Elvis Presley as great as he was, Chuck Berry deserves the title "King of Rock and Roll".

^^^ Sorry to hear that, Rick. Hopefully one day you'll get to see the Cup in Buffalo. The Stanley Cup is the grandest and most beautiful championship trophy in all of sports. In comparison, the Super Bowl trophy looks like a paperweight, the NBA's like a trashcan. As for the World Cup, it resembles nothing so much as an alien dildo. Only MLB's World Series trophy doesn't embarrass itself but it still falls short of the grandeur and awe of the Stanley Cup. Which is why I found myself in downtown L.A. braving the crowds and heat. It was a Kingly day for a parade...not quite as crowded as Lakers or Dodgers parades, but still plenty festive. The mayor even dropped an F-bomb, haha. Unlike previous parades, I stationed myself at the very beginning of the parade route...less crowded and more interesting view. The Goodyear Blimp was kind enough to pose and Rick should get a kick out of the Bring Back the Rams to L.A. guys. Oh when the parade passes by...

Bigamist. I'll be happily cheering on the Redcoats today against Uruguay, Chalks and Chill. Coincides with my lunchtime, conveniently enough. Hmmm...lamb vindaloo? Bangers and mash?

Nectarines are divine. But I still prefer peaches...I like the fuzz. Netherlands = Holland = Hollandaise sauce = Spinach Florentine Benedict.

Right you are, sir! I'll also throw in Jesus Christ...or whomever his 'ghost writer' was. Misattribution is also common...or at least, confusion. One of my favourite aphorisms, and one I had made into a sign at my previous job, is "Outside of a dog, books are a man's best friend. Inside a dog, it's too dark to read." I have seen it attributed to both Groucho Marx and Mark Twain. No June gloom this morning so it's off to the beach!

I posted that in response to the people bitching about the Stephen Colbert clip.

satire sat·ire [sat-ahyuhr] noun 1. the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc. 2. a literary composition, in verse or prose, in which human folly and vice are held up to scorn, derision,or ridicule. 3. a literary genre comprising such compositions.

What sad tidings lately, and finding out about the death of Rik Mayall was one of the saddest. I spent a large chunk of the 1980s watching "The Young Ones" and "Bad News". Henceforth, I tried to keep up with Rik's work as best I could, but given the nature of American TV broadcasting, it wasn't always easy, even with the advent of the BBC America channel. Thankfully, there is youtube, where I have found tons of Rik Mayall I had no idea existed. For instance, that "Dancing Queen" one. Such a shame. 56 is too young to go. R.I.P. Colin Grigson.

And then there were three... In these economic times, any news about getting work is great news. Happy your kids are getting jobs they want, not just jobs they need.

Lovely looking cupcakes, SozoZoso! Well done.

Of course! Whenever you hear a good line, you can usually count on it coming from one of three sources: Mark Twain, Oscar Wilde, or Groucho Marx.

The birthday boy, Igor Stravinsky...born 132 years ago today.

It's like this, CJW...being born in the U.S., I naturally cheer for the U.S. But I am also of Irish heritage, so I support Ireland's national team when I can...no concern this year as they didn't qualify for the World Cup. My soft spot for Germany comes from the three years I spent there in the 1980s...a glorious time of my life, frolicking among the Fräuleins. Not that I didn't have fun in other European countries, but Deutschland war wunderbar!

At long last...SHAVING. Who was it that said "Golf was a good walk spoiled."? John Fienstein? Dan Jenkins? Frank Deford? Oscar Wilde?

FINALLY some '70s live Queen! Was getting tired of all the '80s releases. Looking at the scheduled release date, this should be right before the next round of Led Zeppelin releases. Save your pennies.